There are scores of reasons why your district can be thrust into the news. Lawsuit…sports controversy…social media threats…active shooter… board-superintendent clash…criminal accusation…discrimination complaints…diversity issues…FERPA or HIPAA violation…fiscal mismanagement…protest… sexual misconduct…student newspaper story…challenging conversations… testing controversy…union grievance/strike… Suddenly, there’s a TV crew in the parking lot, your local newspaper is on Line One and the situation […]
A Crisis Can Occur Anytime & Anywhere In the immediate aftermath of a major incident, such as a mass shooting at a mall, restaurant, school, or faith-based location, the police chief and other first responder agencies will likely be lead spokespersons. But “major incidents” could turn into multi-day or multi-week events. Some of those include […]
By Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications… A reporter wants to interview you, but you don’t want to be identified as the source of the information. What do you do? The first thing to do is to ask yourself if the risk is worth it. Even if you follow everything we suggest below, what might the repercussions […]
Misinformation, incorrect impressions…call it whatever you want, but when someone arrives at a conclusion based on incorrect facts and then proceeds to influence others and make decisions based on those incorrect facts, your company can suffer, your stockholders and stakeholders can suffer – and your country can suffer, too. Here’s a short Master Class from…Arnold […]
By Stephanie York, JD, Hennes Communications Any government agency should prioritize communicating truthfully, transparently, quickly and effectively, using traditional media, social media, the agency’s website and any other methods available. A serious issue or crisis ups the ante on communications. That’s when stakeholders most need correct and timely information. That’s also when damaging misinformation and […]
by Howard Fencl, Hennes Communications Come on, people! We’re more than two years into Zoom as our proxy conference room, yet I’m seeing a disturbing uptick of on-camera antics that would have been red-faced embarrassing in the button-down face-to-face business meetings of olden times. Whether it’s Zoom, Teams, WebEx – you name the video conferencing […]
By Stephanie York, JD, Hennes Communications Q: Why should a local school district, an independent or parochial school reach out to a crisis communications firm? A: Quick – What’s the single highest priority for a superintendent, head or board president? It’s not education. It’s safety. And just one part of that safety net is making […]
By Thom Fladung, Hennes Communications Attorney Andy Phillips, like many folks, looks back a bit wistfully at the “good old days.” “I wish it was back in the day where I could go home at 6 o’clock and sit down with the paper for a half hour,” says Phillips, whose practice at von Briesen & […]
From Carol Kinsey Goman, writing in CommPro… In a famous 2002 experiment, a Stanford University professor made audiotapes of physicians and their patients in session. Half of the doctors had been previously brought to court for malpractice. She then played the tapes for her students, who were able to determine which physicians had been sued. […]
From Ken Broda-Bahm, Ph.D., writing for The Persuasive Litigator… Arriving for the preparation meeting, the witness notices that there’s someone new in the room: a communications consultant. A non-lawyer visiting from out-of-town, the consultant is introduced by the lawyer as a specialist in legal communication and as someone who “is here to help us prepare […]
